What is Comprehension?
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Simply put, reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you are reading. While the definition can be simply stated the act is not simple to teach, learn or practice. Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.
According to the OSPI Website:
"Comprehension is constructing meaning by connecting text to what the reader already knows and thinking about this information until it is understood. This is the ultimate goal of reading."
According to the OSPI Website:
"Comprehension is constructing meaning by connecting text to what the reader already knows and thinking about this information until it is understood. This is the ultimate goal of reading."
Why is it critical to literacy?
"If you're not thinking it, you're not reading it!" (Beers, 2003)
In order for reading to be meaningful, readers must comprehend what they read. Reading without comprehension becomes a meaningless, boring task for students. Just because a student can decode words, even with accuracy and fluency, does not mean that this student is comprehending what he or she is reading. Comprehension can and should be taught to students, explicitly and directly. According to Beers (2003), "comprehension is both a product and a process, something that requires purposeful, strategic effort on the reader's part." Since comprehension is such a dynamic process, teachers must teach comprehension strategies such as predicting, visualizing, and clarifying.
Without comprehension, reading is nothing more than tracking symbols on a page with your eyes and sounding them out. Imagine being handed a story written in Egyptian hieroglyphics with no understanding of their meaning. You may appreciate the words aesthetically and even be able to draw some small bits of meaning from the page, but you are not truly reading the story. The words on the page have no meaning. They are simply symbols. People read for many reasons but understanding is always a part of their purpose. Reading comprehension is important because without it reading doesn’t provide the reader with any information. (K12 Reader)
In order for reading to be meaningful, readers must comprehend what they read. Reading without comprehension becomes a meaningless, boring task for students. Just because a student can decode words, even with accuracy and fluency, does not mean that this student is comprehending what he or she is reading. Comprehension can and should be taught to students, explicitly and directly. According to Beers (2003), "comprehension is both a product and a process, something that requires purposeful, strategic effort on the reader's part." Since comprehension is such a dynamic process, teachers must teach comprehension strategies such as predicting, visualizing, and clarifying.
Without comprehension, reading is nothing more than tracking symbols on a page with your eyes and sounding them out. Imagine being handed a story written in Egyptian hieroglyphics with no understanding of their meaning. You may appreciate the words aesthetically and even be able to draw some small bits of meaning from the page, but you are not truly reading the story. The words on the page have no meaning. They are simply symbols. People read for many reasons but understanding is always a part of their purpose. Reading comprehension is important because without it reading doesn’t provide the reader with any information. (K12 Reader)
Assessment Ideas
Running Records (RR)
Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI)
Anecdotal notes:
Anecdotal notes are brief comments about observed behaviors of students. Teachers may record anecdotal notes while observing students during independent reading, reading conferences, partner reading, guided reading, strategy groups and book clubs. Behaviors observed range from noting reading stamina, volume and independence as well as reading strategies students use as the teacher listens to the students read. Individual conference notes Whole Class Conferring Template
Journaling:
Reading journals can be a great way to privately communicate between teacher and student, or even from peer to peer. Students can make connections between what they've read and share those in their journals. These journals should not be graded on grammar or spelling, but provide a safe and expressive way for students to discuss their reading and practice their reading strategies. Reading Journal Prompts
Reading Conferences
Reading conferences are a time for teachers to meet with students individually and converse with them about their reading. A conference might include discussing book selection, talking about the storyline or topic, listening to the student read aloud a small portion of the text, extending fix-up strategies, or setting goals. Artifacts such as reading logs, reading notebooks, post its and running records may be used during a conference to determine the strategies the student is demonstrating and identify those strategies for targeted instruction.
CORE MAZE Comprehension Test
AimsWEB MAZE Comprehension Test
Instructional Strategies
It is important to remember that we we can teach students how to comprehend texts. We shouldn't assume that if we simply explain what something means, students will automatically know how to comprehend other texts. To help dependent readers become independent readers, we must teach them strategies that will help them understand texts. These include:
Pre-Reading Strategies:
Anticipation Guides - encourage students to connect ideas, make predictions, and look for cause and effect relationships. Check out these templates from Reading Rocket: Anticipate Guide 1 Anticipation Guide 2
K-W-L Charts - provides the students with the opportunity to access their knowledge about a topic before they read, consider what they want to learn, and then record what they have learned after reading. Teachers can also add a G column for "Where do I need to GO to answer these questions?" Here are some helpful templates that you can use: KWL Chart KWHL Chart
Probable Passage - Introduces students to new terms and phrases that they will encounter later in the reading. Students also predict and anticipate what might happen in the text. Here is an example of a Probable Passage worksheet.
Tea Party - Students study their phrase cards and share them with each other, they begin to make predictions about setting, characters, and problems. They become actively engaged in the text before they've even begun reading it.
During-Reading Strategies:
Say Something – a simple strategy that interrupts the student’s reading of a text, giving her a chance to think about what she is reading.
Rereading – something that all good readers do! Give students specifics tasks to do as they reread. “Viewing reading as revision is a powerful way to understand reading – but one that requires that we encourage rereading of texts rather than discourage it.”
Think Aloud – Good readers have constant dialogue with the text as they read, although they usually do it silently.
Double Entry Journals – “Notes from the Text” & “Notes from My Mind”
Logographic Cues – readers design logos or images to insert into texts (sticky notes, margins) as "signposts" that show them the direction the text is taking.
Bookmarks – a variety of forms to use that include a focus on vocabulary, setting, questioning, characters, or even non-fiction terminology.
Post-It Notes – Use them! Encourage students to mark up their books using all sorts of post-it notes, model doing so in your own books.
Syntax Surgery – connect words that are related with circles and lines, it gets messy!
Signal Words – later, first, however, likewise, in addition to, etc.
After Reading Strategies:
Scales – students make choices on ideas or characters. Scales encourage students to think about and engage in discussions on what they’ve read. No pressure in being right or wrong.
Somebody Wanted But So – Provides scaffolding for writing summaries and helps students to identify main idea and details, recognizes cause and effect relationships, make generalizations, and helps them to understand how shifting the point of view emphasizes different aspects of the story.
Retellings – helps students to be more specific, more organized, and become aware of their audience.
Text Reformulation – encourages students to identify main ideas, cause and effect relationships, themes, and main characters. They begin to see how form influences the message.
It Says, I Say - A simple visual scaffold that helps students to answer inferential questions by using their prior knowledge.
Sketch to Stretch - students create symbolic sketches of their interpretations of the text.
Save the Last Word for Me- after reading the text, students choose passages they like and copy each passage on a card. Then, on the reverse side of that card they write why they liked that passage. In small groups, students share passages and comment on them.
Most Important Word - Students choose what they consider to be the most important word from the text they've just read. For an extra challenge, tell students they can't use a character's name or any of the words in the title.
Some helpful websites:
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/comprehension_strategies.html
http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=2
A HUGE collection graphic organizers and story maps: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/storymap/
This websites has a huge collection of templates including anticipation guides, inference guides, and KWL charts: http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~cfoster/reading/ReadingTemplates.html
A fun chart to put up in the classroom to help students use stick notes while reading: Sticky Note Codes
A huge collection of mentor texts to help teach all kinds of reading strategies: Comprehensive Reading Strategies Book List
Blackline Masters for Reading: Laura Candler's File Cabinet
Reader's Workshop classroom webpage with amazing resources, posters, blackline masters, and more! http://www.ourclassweb.com/sites_for_teachers_readers_workshop.htm
A document with some great adapted handouts from Beers:
http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/studentsuccess/thinkliteracy/files/thinklitenglish.pdf
- clarifying
- comparing and contrasting
- connecting to prior experiences
- inferencing (including generalizing and drawing conclusions)
- predicting
- questioning the text
- recognizing the author's purpose
- seeing causal relationships
- summarizing
- visualizing
Pre-Reading Strategies:
Anticipation Guides - encourage students to connect ideas, make predictions, and look for cause and effect relationships. Check out these templates from Reading Rocket: Anticipate Guide 1 Anticipation Guide 2
K-W-L Charts - provides the students with the opportunity to access their knowledge about a topic before they read, consider what they want to learn, and then record what they have learned after reading. Teachers can also add a G column for "Where do I need to GO to answer these questions?" Here are some helpful templates that you can use: KWL Chart KWHL Chart
Probable Passage - Introduces students to new terms and phrases that they will encounter later in the reading. Students also predict and anticipate what might happen in the text. Here is an example of a Probable Passage worksheet.
Tea Party - Students study their phrase cards and share them with each other, they begin to make predictions about setting, characters, and problems. They become actively engaged in the text before they've even begun reading it.
During-Reading Strategies:
Say Something – a simple strategy that interrupts the student’s reading of a text, giving her a chance to think about what she is reading.
Rereading – something that all good readers do! Give students specifics tasks to do as they reread. “Viewing reading as revision is a powerful way to understand reading – but one that requires that we encourage rereading of texts rather than discourage it.”
Think Aloud – Good readers have constant dialogue with the text as they read, although they usually do it silently.
Double Entry Journals – “Notes from the Text” & “Notes from My Mind”
Logographic Cues – readers design logos or images to insert into texts (sticky notes, margins) as "signposts" that show them the direction the text is taking.
Bookmarks – a variety of forms to use that include a focus on vocabulary, setting, questioning, characters, or even non-fiction terminology.
Post-It Notes – Use them! Encourage students to mark up their books using all sorts of post-it notes, model doing so in your own books.
Syntax Surgery – connect words that are related with circles and lines, it gets messy!
Signal Words – later, first, however, likewise, in addition to, etc.
After Reading Strategies:
Scales – students make choices on ideas or characters. Scales encourage students to think about and engage in discussions on what they’ve read. No pressure in being right or wrong.
Somebody Wanted But So – Provides scaffolding for writing summaries and helps students to identify main idea and details, recognizes cause and effect relationships, make generalizations, and helps them to understand how shifting the point of view emphasizes different aspects of the story.
Retellings – helps students to be more specific, more organized, and become aware of their audience.
Text Reformulation – encourages students to identify main ideas, cause and effect relationships, themes, and main characters. They begin to see how form influences the message.
It Says, I Say - A simple visual scaffold that helps students to answer inferential questions by using their prior knowledge.
Sketch to Stretch - students create symbolic sketches of their interpretations of the text.
Save the Last Word for Me- after reading the text, students choose passages they like and copy each passage on a card. Then, on the reverse side of that card they write why they liked that passage. In small groups, students share passages and comment on them.
Most Important Word - Students choose what they consider to be the most important word from the text they've just read. For an extra challenge, tell students they can't use a character's name or any of the words in the title.
Some helpful websites:
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/comprehension_strategies.html
http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=2
A HUGE collection graphic organizers and story maps: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/storymap/
This websites has a huge collection of templates including anticipation guides, inference guides, and KWL charts: http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~cfoster/reading/ReadingTemplates.html
A fun chart to put up in the classroom to help students use stick notes while reading: Sticky Note Codes
A huge collection of mentor texts to help teach all kinds of reading strategies: Comprehensive Reading Strategies Book List
Blackline Masters for Reading: Laura Candler's File Cabinet
Reader's Workshop classroom webpage with amazing resources, posters, blackline masters, and more! http://www.ourclassweb.com/sites_for_teachers_readers_workshop.htm
A document with some great adapted handouts from Beers:
http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/studentsuccess/thinkliteracy/files/thinklitenglish.pdf
Resources
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Johnston, F. R., Templeton, S., & Bear, D. R. (2012). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Beers, G. K. (2003). When kids can't read, what teachers can do: A guide for teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bell, S. M., & McCallum, R. S. (2008). Handbook of reading assessment. Boston, MA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2006). The daily 5: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2009). The CAFE book: Engaging all students in daily literacy assessment & instruction. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Cooper, J. D., & Kiger, N. D. (2006). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Leslie, L., & Caldwell, J. (2011). Qualitative reading inventory. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Miller, D. (2002). Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Beers, G. K. (2003). When kids can't read, what teachers can do: A guide for teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bell, S. M., & McCallum, R. S. (2008). Handbook of reading assessment. Boston, MA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2006). The daily 5: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2009). The CAFE book: Engaging all students in daily literacy assessment & instruction. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Cooper, J. D., & Kiger, N. D. (2006). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Leslie, L., & Caldwell, J. (2011). Qualitative reading inventory. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Miller, D. (2002). Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.